Material handling device



April 12, 1938. F. E. ROBINSON MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 16, 1937 April 12, 1938. F. E. ROBINSON MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 16, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Inventor."

EOB/NSON Fem/K E. M Waxy; fi/Qi War/7655.

Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PAT V MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE FrankE. Robinson, smel- Heights, omo 7 Application February 16, 1937, Serial No. 128,098 p 1 50laiins. (01. 212-18) This invention relates to material handling devices, and,- more particularly, to such devices that are in the nature of traversing hoists for transporting annular articles from one place to another. n

In the steel industry, it is usual to convey coils of wire and strip from the manufactory, or warehouse; to the railroad line, or other shipping depot, by means of traveling hooks arranged in spaced endless relation. These hooks are usually suspended from a track that is extended in an elevated position parallel to the railroad track or other roadway of shipment. Such conveyor hooks are usually disposed with the plane of the hook normal to the trackway from which it is suspended, and, therefore, normal to the rail: road track past which it 'runs.- In this position, coils of wire, or strip, when carried by such hook conveyors, are disposed in a vertical plane parallel to the railroad tracks.

In transferring these coils from the hook conveyors to the railroad cars, it has, heretofore,

been the custom to remove them from the hook" conveyors and dispose them within the cars in a vertical position that is 90 to the positions they formerly assumed when on the hook conveyors. This operation has heretofore been accomplished manually, which has entailed the-expenditure of much physical labor, time, and energy, to load one railroad car. Furthermore, this occupation has been considered as involving considerable risk to the life and limbs of the menemployed for this work. I

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a mechanical meanswhereby the manner of loading railroad cars with coils of wire and strip may be accomplished without the employment of manual labor.

Itis another object of the present invention to provide a material handling device that is capable of transporting articles from onepoint to another in any direction, and which is capable of turning such articles througha substantial arcbefore finally discharging the same.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter in the following specification when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which: I

Figure 1 represents a schematic elevational view disclosing the subject of this invention as it is associated with a hook conveyor for loading a railroad car.

Figure 2 representsagfragmentary sectional elevation taken along line 'II-lI in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevational view @VI-VI in Figure 5.

. of a detail of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along lines Referring now more speciflcally'to the drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout: v u A carriage I, provided with suitable wheels 2-,

is disposed upon the trackway 3. The trackway 3 may be carried by a wheeledplatform 4 that ,is mounted by trackways 5 above a railroad trackway or other loading zone. p

Depending from the carriage I is a rigid tu bular member 6 that extends through openings in the platform and carriage from a mounting "I on top of the latter to which it is fastened by a universal joint 8. The universal joint is adapted to permit the tubular member 6 to be constructed to pre ent the tubular member from having any rotative movement about its longitudinal axis.

Telescoped within the tubular member 6 is a relatively rigid rod 0 which is adapted to slide up and down within the tubular member. The lower end of the rod 8 projects beyond the lower extremity of the tubular member 6,, and is provided with a clevis I II to which is secured a 001-, lapsible hook member II. The hookmember' is provided with an article-engaging bar, I2 which, by manipulation of a release mechanism (not' shown) that is actuated by lever; I3, is adapted to swing downwardly so as to discharge any articles suspended thereon.

The rod 9 at its upper extremity within the tubular member 8 is secured to a flexible strand joint 8; upwardly over a suitable guide sheave 7 moved in all directions at its lower end, but it is I6, and downwardly to a suitably powered drum or Windlass H. The sheave and windlass are suitably mounted, asby the mounting 1, upon the carriage I, and are suitably controlled'so as to raise and lower the rod 8 within the tubular, member 6, and,thus, to raise and lower the hook member II relative to the carriage I. i

The tubular member 6 is provided with, an elongated spiral slot I8 within which a slide"), that is rigidly secured to the, rod 9, is disposed to ride. The slot I 8 forms a cam, which, as the rod 9 is raised and lowered within the tubular member 6 by the cable l4, induces the slide I 9 to follow its spiral path, which, in turn, exerts a torque upon the rod 9, and causes it to turn substantially 90 about its own axis. The purpose for the cam slot and rotative movement 01' the rod 9 will become apparent hereinafter when the operation of the mechanism is discussed.

An operators platform 20 is also hung from the carriage I so as to be disposed adjacent the upper extremity of movement of the hook H, which is its principal loading position. Suitable controls 2| are provided adjacent the operator's platform 20, and may be advantageously secured upon the tubular member 6 by suitable brackets 22, whereby the operator on platform 20 may control the position of the platform 4, the carriage 2, and the hook ll, without moving from his post. A pull-cord 23 is secured to the hook trip-lever l3, .and is fastened at its upper end to the slide l9 so that, even though the hook is moved to its lowermost position, the operator will always have access to it to collapse the hook ll.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that the articles to be handled, such as, coils of wire or strip 24, are conveyed by conveyor hooks 25 in endless succession past raflroad tracks 26, onto which a car 21 to be loaded has been moved. In the normal course .of the loading operations, it is necessary that the coils be hoisted from the conveyor hooks 25; moved to a position overlying the car 21', and lowered therein to the position shown at 24'. This necessitates that-the coils be rotated 90 in the particular arrangement illustrated in Figure 1. Therefore, to effect the transfer of the coils 24 from the hook conveyors 25 into the car 21, the operator on the platform 20, first brings the movable platform 4 into proper position above the railroad car, and then actuates the carriage hooks 25. In this position, the hook II, by virtue of the universal mounting 8, is swung toward the coil so as to dispose its article-engaging bar l2 into the central opening thereof. Simultaneously, the Windlass I1 is energized to cause the cable M to lift the rod 9 within the tubular member 6', thereby lifting the coil from the conveyor hooks 25 so as to permit the coil 24 to swing clear thereof, and to be fully supported by the collapsible hook II.

The operator then actuates the carriage l to a su table position so that the coil hanging upon the collapsible hook is properly positioned over the railroad car 21. Here the Windlass is reversed so as to permit the coil to be slowly lowered into the car by the retrogressive motion of the hook ll, rod 9, and cable l4. During this lowering movement, the slide l9, rigidly secured .to the rod 9, follows the contour of the cam slot I8 within the tubular member 6, and, thus, causes the rod 9 to turn the hook, and to rota e the coil substantially 90, to a position substantially as is shown at 24' in Figure 1, where it is discharged. The discharging movement is accomplished by the operator pulling the pull-cord 23 to raise the lever l3 ,so as to unlatch the trip mechanism not shown) that positions the bar l2 in the horizontal position. After discharging the coil,

' the hook may again be returned to its position In order not to interfere with the movement of the railroad cars, the carriage I may be withdrawn to one extremity of the trackway 3 upon the platform 4, and the collapsible hook II, by virtue of the universal mounting 8, drawn inwardly and secured so as to afford clearance for objects passing therebeneath.

The invention is principally concerned with the provision of the novel article-handling means, which may be raised and lowered, and simultaneously turned through a substantial arc, thus simulating movements obtainable hitherto only by the use of manual labor. Many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, such as by transposing the tubular member 6 and the rod 9 so that the latter becomes the stationary part, and thetubular member 6, the relative movable part supporting the collapsible hook ll. Also, the precise are through which the hook H is rotated may be varied to satisfy any particular situation, whereby the cam slot 18 may be redesigned to afford the proper amount of rotative movement. Such a hoisting device has utility and merit as dissociated from either the traveling carriage I or the traveling platform 4, with which it has been shown associated in the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only, and as but one of the many uses to which it is adapted. Furthermore, any suitable power means, other than that shown, may be employed to raise and lower the hook member, and to cause its traversing movements. The power means may be carried upon the carriage, or positioned at a remote point therefrom. a

Therefore, while I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, I do not intend to be limited thereto since many modifications, such as those discussed above, may be made without departing from the scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims. I so that the hook H is confronting the conveyor 1 I claim as my invention:

1. A transfer mechanism comprising a material-engaging device, a rigid member supporting said device, a support for suspending said rigid member and device, said support being swiveled to an anchorage for non-rotative universal movement, means for raising and lowering said rigid member and device relative to said support, and means rendered eifective by said raising and lowering movement to rotate said material-engaging device a substantial amount.

2. A transfer mechanism comprising an elongated guide, an elongated rigid member telescopically associated with said guide, a collapsible hook secured to the free end of said rigid memher, a cam rigidly afiixed upon said guide, a camslide rigidly affixed upon said member, a flexible strand for raising and lowering said member relative to said guide, and for coacting said cam and cam-slide to vary the planar dispositionoi said hook.

3. A transfer mechanism comprising a relatively elevated trackway, a carriage arranged to traverse said trackway, a hoist suspended from said carriage including a rigid member supporting said device, a support for suspending said rigid member and device, said support being swiveled to an anchorage upon said carriage for non-rotative universal movement relative to the latter, means on said carriage for raising and lowering said device, and means on said support for effecting rotation of said device incident to its raising and lowering movement.

tively elevated trackway, a carriage disposed to traverse said trackway, an elongated rigid guide swiveled to said carriage, an elongated rigid member telescopically associated with said guide, a collapsible hook secured to the free end of said rigid member, cam means carried in complementary relation by said guide and member, a flexible strand secured to said member, means on said carriage to take-up and pay-out said strand to raise and lower said hook, and to render effec- 1 tive said cam means to rotate the latter.

FRANK E. ROBINSON. 

